NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – Four years after casino gaming was approved in Norfolk, city leaders and casino developers finally “broke ground” on the planned casino next to Harbor Park.

The ceremony took place Wednesday morning at the casino’s future site, the parking lot in between Harbor Park and the Amtrak Station. It featured many special guests, big check giveaways and even the Norfolk State University Spartan Legend marching band.

The ceremony culminated with the Norfolk City Council, Chief Robert Gray, of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and Keith Smith, CEO of Boyd Gaming, turning dirt in a sandbox. A member of the tribe blessed the land in accordance with tribe heritage.

What the event didn’t feature however was any construction equipment.

Watch the full press conference for the groundbreaking ceremony below:

While City Council has voted on all required ordinances for the project to move forward, no construction permits had been issued at the time of the ceremony.

Furthermore, there is currently no general contractor assigned to the job.

In September 2021, the Tribe announced that national construction firm Suffolk would partner with with Newport News-based W.M. Jordan Company to construct the then-named Headwaters Resort and Casino.

But that all charged when Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming took the dealers chair in the deal.

“As a large public company, whenever we have a project like this, we go out and do a formal request for proposal process,” Smith said. We’re right in the middle of doing that now. We’ll take requests and we will find the best contractor and move forward.”

Boyd is now the majority stakeholder in Golden Eagle Consulting II, the LLC originally set up between the New Kent-based tribe and Tennessee billionaire Jon Yarbrough.

Yarbrough dropped out of the partnership earlier this year according to Smith and they stepped in.

“You know, having been in the business for some 50 years and growing each and every year, we know what’s going on around the country,” Smith said. “So we got formally engaged about six or eight months ago when we realized there was an opportunity because a prior developer was not going to move forward.”

Boyd Gaming announced Wednesday they are now committing to a $750 million project, $150 million more than the investment with a 200 room hotel, 1,500 slot machines, eight bars, restaurants and more.

That puts the investment at $50 million above the initial resort cost in December 2018.

When asked why they held the groundbreaking without permits, a spokesperson for the project called it a “celebration.”

According to a development agreement, 103 spaces in the casino parking garage will be set aside for Amtrak passengers. In order to have their parking validated, passengers will be required to park in spots labeled for Amtrak and show proof before leaving.

Some Norfolk residents have said they are concerned about smoking in the casino, as the agreement states they want to create an “enjoyable environment for smokers and non smokers” through the use of a “best-in-class” ventilation system in the gaming areas.

Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander told WAVY the casino is expected to be completed by 2027.